


Scars, Scales, and Fire Trails

by OJtoastLiterature



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Adoption, Bad Parents Alador Blight and Odalia Blight, Cursed!Luz, Eventully, F/F, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Like some really messed up crap happens to her, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Luz Noceda has ADHD, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Right?, Runaway, Sad Luz Noceda, Scales Au, Slow Burn, So does Amity, So they give hugs to each other, Song lyrics as titles, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, but she will be okay in the end., but still kind of oblivious, minor cussing, smart luz, they all will, with actual burning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OJtoastLiterature/pseuds/OJtoastLiterature
Summary: Life is like a flame. It can provide warmth and safety. It can light you through the dark so that you can find your way home. But life, like flames, can just as easily be taken away, snuffled out with a strong enough gust of wind, or another flame can swallow it whole. Luz knew about the flames of life more than she wished she did. She had seen a flame engulf the flame of someone close to her and burn down everything she had ever known.She swore she would never let a flame get that big again. Not while she is still alive to dowse it.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 20
Kudos: 150





	1. The Damage is Damnin’ Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> Whooo! First fic and I'm actually feeling good about it. I even know how I want to end. It's just figuring out what should go in the middle that I need to work on. Heh. Let's not sit on that for right now, just read on and I hope you enjoy the prologue. By the way, the chapter title is from Runnin’ by Adam Lambert.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night brings many things. But for some, it brings nothing good.
> 
> TW// Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fic on this site and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I even know how I want to end it, just need to work on everything in the middle. But let's not think about that for the time being. Read on and I hope you enjoy the story.
> 
> Updated: 12/23/2020

**A dark forest surrounded her, the trees reaching far into the stratosphere. Anxiety fueled her every carefully placed step and breakneck turn of her head at every strange russell in the bushes. She needed to get out of here, NEEDED to get back home. Her fear spiked when a raspy cackle rang out, echoing through every inch of the forest.**

_**'You want to go home. Ha. What makes you think you even deserve to go back there? To go back to Her?'**_ **She looks all around, trying to find where the voice was coming from, but she couldn’t focus. It was becoming harder for her to breathe.**

_  
**'Have you forgotten how you failed her? Failed to protect her and the place you think you are worth enough to call home and yet you feel you will be welcomed back.'**  
_

**She fell to her knees with her head in the dirt, the words felt as though they manifested into shackles and weighed down her body. The inability to catch her breath made it too hard for her to keep going. The voice wasn’t right, she told herself, but she couldn’t completely convince herself of that. Its words felt too familiar like she had told herself these things many times before.**

_  
**'Fear not pitiful child, I will always be here to make sure you know your place.'**  
_

**The voice was now in one fixed place and sounded like it was getting closer. All the rustling seemed to cease.**

_  
**'I will be here to tear you down.'**  
_

**She heard a footstep, then another.**

_  
**'I will be here to show you just how pitiful you truly are.'**  
_

**The owner of the voice was standing right in front of her but she couldn't find the strength to raise her head to see higher than their ankles. The feet of the figure were rough and scaly, the toes had sharp, pointy claws at the ends of them. She had seen feet like that once before. On that night.**

**She quickly shut her eyes and ceased trying to get up. She didn’t want to look up. But the figure didn’t seem to respect her choice as their clawed hand tightly gripped the back of her shirt, pulling her slowly off the ground.**

_  
**'I will be here to take away anything you come to hold close.'**  
_

**Her airway was completely closed off now as she was hanging in the air by the collar of her shirt. More tears pooled in her eyes with each fleeting breath of air. She was face to face with the figure but fought to keep her eyes closed. It was a losing battle.**

**Her eyes fluttered open and her blurred vision landed on the face of a feathered reptilian creature with a razor-toothed smile and glowing blue eyes. Pure, cold fear hit her like a bullet train as the creature pulled her closer and whispered into her ear.**

_  
**'I will be the last thing you see as feel the slow release of death.'**  
_

**She felt something plunge into her stomach and pain rage throughout her body, but she no longer had air in her lung to make any sort of sound. She could only look down to see the creature’s claw burrowed deep in her gut, her blood running down its hand and sticking to her shirt. The scene looked so eerily similar and that was what scared her the most.**

__  
**'Say hello to your Mamí for me.'**  


**That was the last thing she heard before the creature twisted its clawed fingers and everything went black.**

Luz shot up from the bed but quickly stopped herself as her head was an inch away from hitting the vent duct. _'Why did I just have to have a top bunk?'_

She tried to take a breath to calm herself down but still found it difficult to take in air. She then realized that was because her own hand was clamped tightly around her throat. Quickly letting go she focused more on getting air into her lungs and less on the fact she strangled herself in her sleep.

Or her dream.

Luz shook her head trying to rid herself of those lingering thoughts, but it did no good. She would need to go to her spot if she truly wanted to clear her mind. Maybe there she could get at least an hour more of sleep. After taking a few more minutes to calm herself, Luz looked throughout the dark room to make sure she hadn’t woken up anyone else. When no one showed any signs of consciousness, she balled up the thin blanket she was provided and peeled herself off her sweat-soaked sheets. 

With years of expertise, she hopped down from her bunk and landed silently on the carpet below, making her way to the door. Pushing her ear to it, Luz listened for anyone who could be patrolling the halls. After she was sure the coast was clear she slightly opened the door and slipped through. She snuck down the long hallway, the marble floor feeling as cold as ice against Luz’s bare feet though she didn’t mind too much. It helped her know for sure that she was awake since it was always hot in her nightmares. 

Luz turned towards the stairway and went down them skipping every other step but stopped at the second to last one. Pressing herself against the stairway wall she listened closely once again. When she was met with silence, Luz continued to the bottom and took a left. She soon found herself in the lobby area. 

She went towards the front desk and hopped over it to get to the exposed water pipe that went all the way through the ceiling. Luz tucked the blanket under her shirt and once she sure it was secure, she began to climb up. Once to the top, she transferred herself to another pipe that spanned the entire ceiling and put one hand in front of another as she made her way to a large single-pane window.

She made sure her feet were firmly placed on the wide window sill before letting go of the pipe. Wiping the dust on her hands off with her shorts, Luz took the blanket out and wrapped it around her shoulders before sitting down facing the window. 

She couldn’t tell from her room since it didn't have a window but could now see that the moon was still high in the sky telling her it wasn't that long after midnight. Luz took in a deep breath then pressed her forehead against the cold glass as she released it. The chill of the night relaxed her body but her mind was still going hot. Not even being in her spot seemed to stop the onslaught of thoughts and memories that the nightmare brought up.

_'So much for sleeping anymore tonight.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet, almost like a one-shot. Though don't worry, the chapters will get longer as I go on.
> 
> Chapter title is from Runnin' by Adam Lambert.


	2. It's the Only Life I Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz is an awkward, sad bean and mischief may soon be managed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two! Twice as long as the first and took twice as long to write. But I don't mind since you all seem to like my story for some reason. Anyway enough babbling from me, Enjoy.
> 
> Updated:12/26/2020

It was when the sun began to show itself over the treeline of the forest to the east of the building that Luz begrudgingly pulled herself away from the cooled glass and tiredly snuck back to her room. She was reaching for the doorknob when the alarm signaling to wake up rang throughout the halls. Discarding stealthiness, she rushed through the door and jumped up to her bed. She had just pulled herself up when the kid in the bunk below her had woken up. 

Bottom bunk, as Luz called her since she didn’t remember her name, was the oldest of the five girls that inhibited the room with Luz being second. As the oldest, she was the one who made sure all of the girls were accounted for before they were supposed to go to breakfast/announcements, also at night when lights out was called. Bottom bunk rose from her bed and did a quick stretch while letting out a big yawn.

“Alright lazy bones, that alarm ain’t fer nothin’. It’s a big day I guess and them wardens are gonna be on us alot more if’er moven’ slow.” Bottom bunk called out with a southern twang to her voice. She reached up to scratch an itch on her curly dirty-blond hair covered head. It was then she got the feeling that someone was staring at her.

She turned to see tired-looking caramel brown eyes looking down at her. Luz could see how this might have seemed a bit creepy, but she didn’t mean to stare at the older girl. She was just waiting for the right time to lower herself from her bunk so that it seemed that she was sleeping a couple of minutes ago. Though that line of reasoning was not picked up by BB, seeing as she jumped back and almost stepped on the girl that slept on the spare mattress on the floor.

“Geez! Watch it County.” Spare mattress didn’t seem to enjoy the impromptu wake-up call and near loss of a finger. Though Bottom Bunk didn’t seem too concerned with her. She was still focused on the kid that was staring into her soul.

Luz was tired, okay.

“Err….did ya need somethin’ Scruff?” 

It took a minute for Luz to shake herself from her daze and sense how awkward feel that overtook the room. The other girls had now rubbed the sleep from their eyes to see the intense stare off going on. What made it so awkward, at least for Luz, was the fact she had barely talked or interacted with the four other girls that stayed in the room. To the point that she only referred to them as their sleeping arrangements and Bottom bunk called her Scruff because of her short brown hair that she hadn’t brushed in who knows how long. Luz couldn’t think of anything to say so she panicked. She quickly shook her head and looked away, opting to look at the wall instead. Yeah, that is was **way** least weird.

“Heh, right. Like I said we better git ah move on.” Bottom bunk did her best to pretend...whatever that was didn’t happen as she went to her cabinet and grabbed her toothbrush and everything else she needed to start the morning. All the other girls except Luz followed suit and they made their way to the bathrooms. As they left the room, Spare mattress called back to Luz.

“Smooth move weird kid.”

Luz grumbled to herself as she waited until she could no longer hear them anymore. She hopped off her bunk, then grabbed her toothbrush, toothpaste, and face rag from her cabinet. Leaving the room, she headed in the opposite direction of all the other kids in the hallway and made her way to the half bathroom in the janitor’s closet. No one ever used it since it was never cleaned. Surprising since the closet had a wall covered in cleaning supplies. 

Then again, the weird smell from all those chemicals being that close to each other was probably the real reason why no one used it, but Luz didn’t mind the smell. If it meant having just a little time in the morning to herself, she would brave likely noxious fumes.

Since Luz didn’t have to wait for the bathroom, she was the first back to the room. She quickly changed out of her royal purple and white basketball shorts and a baggy white t-shirt and into Bermuda shorts that were half a size too big and a light and dark purple striped shirt. She didn’t really mind having clothes that were a bit too big for her, mostly since these were the only clothes she took a liking to when given the chance to pick some out.

She grabbed her worn-down white tennis shoes and her light purple hoodie with sky blue sleeves, pocket, and hood from her cabinet before putting them on and making sure it was closed properly. As she left the room she pulled up her hood and closed the door behind her.

Walking to the cafeteria among clusters of other kids, her legs went into autopilot and she unconsciously looked around the hall. She couldn’t help but think back on the odd begins of the place that she has been staying in for the past six years.

From what she picked up throughout her time here, Peter Point Orphanage had started as a mid-scale office building for an electrical appliance firm, only two levels to it with most of the offices being on the top while the meeting rooms and a workshop taking up most of the first. Though the firm was set up for success, it had a rough time getting off the ground. Workers would often quit after making claims of strange occurrences in the woods. Important papers would seemingly disappear into thin air. Rumors of ghost hunting the building itself. Just weird and straight-up mystical stuff all around. But what did them in, however, wasn’t all that supernatural, it was simply human error. Apparently, an employee had made a mistake with the calculations for the voltage input and output on one of the firm’s products, and the resulting damage and lawsuits left them with no choice but to sell the place.

Though that doesn’t give a reason as to why someone would buy a failed place of business that was right next to a dangerous forest and is likely hunted and then think ‘huh, this would be the perfect place to have over eighty hormonally unstable and messed up kids live until strangers feel like they give a damn about someone they don’t have a blood relation to.’ You had to wonder what their thought process was.

The office building had to have a lot of work done to it if was going to meet the minimal requirements to house children. Every office was carpeted and had two sets of bunk beds with one extra mattress just in case five need to be in a room. There were cabinets installed for kids to keep things they didn’t mind stolen since the cabinets didn’t come with locks. The workshop was stripped and converted into a cafeteria/meeting area with the breakroom to the side of it and one of the meeting rooms mushed together and turned into a proper kitchen.

_‘Just a shame that it doesn’t make proper food’_

Just as Luz thought that she feels someone bump into her, causing her to refocus on her surroundings. She becomes aware that not only had she made it to the cafeteria but had gotten in line and was holding it up. She gave the boy who bumped her a force, awkward smile and grabbed a bowl and spoon to the left of her before walking up to the lady serving breakfast. Luz fought back a grimace as the lady plopped into her bowl what the blackboard hanging above insisted was cheese and grits but every kid here would agree it resembled gray gloop more than anything edible. With a small nod to the lady, Luz quickly walked away and sat at the first empty table she could find. Understandably, she wasn’t that hungry and opted to look around at all those who were stuck there like her.

Her eyes stopped on the scene of one boy who wasn’t paying attention and tripped on an exposed pipe sticking out of the floor. Yet another thing that needed to be added when the building was converted, more pipes and air vents to combat the influx of running water and need for cool air. Luz had found that they had their advantages, like how she could use the pipes to get to her spot or use the vent above her bed as a place to store things she didn’t want to be stolen since it stopped working ages ago. But they had disadvantages as well, like how they could you look like an idiot in front of everyone. Unfortunately, this boy was now dealing with said disadvantage.

The grey gloop he was carrying managed to get more on him than the floor since he fell directly on the bowl. And as if his luck wasn't already horrible, the general chaos that was the Peter Point cafeteria wasn't enough to cover up his little blunder and have no one notice. A few kids gathered around him, pointing and laughing. Luz felt a spark run through her as if she was just itching to tell those kids off and help the boy.

 ** _'Why would anyone want your help? You’ll just make things worse.'_**

The spark left as quick as it came, and whisps of her nightmare came back to the forefront of her mind. She needed to look anywhere else, just to keep her mind clear and off the boy. Off of that night. It didn’t take long for a new distraction to come as two boys, one a redhead the other had jet black hair and were likely the same age as Luz from what she can tell, decide to sit at the table behind her. 

“So, are we still a go for the plan today?” the redhead asked in a semi-whisper. Black hair looked at him like he said something stupid, which he probably did. 

Luz wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but this plan they were talking about had her intrigued. Besides if they didn’t want anyone to listen in, they should have had this conversion elsewhere. Everyone knew that the cameras around the building no longer worked. 

“Of course we are,” Black said matter of factly in the same hushed tone. “Unless you want to wait another month for this day.”

“No, just wanted to make sure I had everything. I’m using an eraser to keep the door open, right?”

Black looked as if he wanted to facepalm and slap Red at the same time.

“NO! We went over this. You will use a scrap of paper that matches the color of the door and tape. That way it doesn’t lock and then we grab whatever we want from the vault, remember?”

Luz’s eyes went wide as she tried to decide whether the plan was pure genius or plain stupid. The vault was one the worth possibly getting into a lot of trouble just for the chance to look through it. The vault was what all the kids called a room to the left of the last meeting room that held the supplies that were donated to the orphanage by the Red Cross and a few ‘selfless’ souls (people cleaning out their house and needing a place to dump their trash). But that stuff wasn't what gave the vault its name, it was the stuff that got confiscated from kids who didn't them that well or caused to much trouble with them.

Things from water guns to new socks to working phones were locked up in the vault and there were very few times when it was opened. Those times being on Christmas, a kid's birthday, or when a kid finally got adopted. And judging by the varying looks on the faces around her, Luz could tell the reason as to why the vault was likely to be open today.

“Good Morning children! I know you all are just as excited as me about today.” A dark-skinned man in his late thirties had taken center stage at the front of the cafeteria with a microphone in hand. His name was Mr. Hal and Luz only remembered his name because every day without fail he would wear a long-sleeved, freshly ironed collared shirt with a tie despite it always being about eighty degrees outside. Also because he was the head of the orphanage and Luz was in his office at least three times every two weeks, but she doesn’t like to dwell on that. Mr. Hal continued his speech.

“Most of you know why this is the case but for those who are new here or need a refresher, on the second Saturday of every month we here at Peter Point hold what we all like to call Pair-ent to Children Day. A time where potential parents come and get to know you all then decide if they want to start the adoption process with you.” He was kind of lying when he said everyone called days like today that horrible pun. Most kids referred to it as viewing day since throughout the day they were looked at like animals at a zoo. 

And about everyone being excited for today? Well, the looks from those around her once again told Luz all she needed to know, along with personal experience. The older kids had looks of lost hope and desperation on their faces as they were edging closer to the cruel age of eighteen when they would be forced to leave unless adopted before then. But they knew there was little chance of that happening since no one wanted to adopt a near-adult.

The younger kids and the ones who hadn't been there long had excited, even victorious looks like they were just waiting for Mr. Hal to stop talking so that they can brag to all their friends about how they knew for sure they were going to be adopted. Others not even bothering to wait, speaking to each other in not so hushed voices. It was almost sad how much faith they had in the world to do at least one good thing for them.

Luz’s feeling’s on getting adopted were mixed. While she wanted nothing more than to finally put this place behind her, she wasn’t quite ready to call a bunch of strangers ‘family’. She just might never be.

_It’s for the best anyway._

Mr. Hal cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention once more.

“As I was saying, today is very big and it will take some time to finish setting up in the backfield. So anyone who would like to help can and those who do not will return to your rooms until you are called upon. But before I leave you to finish your breakfast, I would like to remind you now that there will be a lot of people here and you are representing Peter Point. So I hope this means something to you and wanes you away from causing any sort of trouble as the resulting consequences will be worse than on any other day.”

Luz couldn’t shake the feeling that Mr. Hal was referring to her as he gave his warning. Then again it could have been because he was looking directly at her. Or the fact Mr. Hal somehow had a sixth sense when it came to detecting trouble that was caused by Luz, even when she tried so hard not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh. So stuff goes down, just not in this chapter. You'll have to wait until this weekend to see what trouble is lurking around the corner for our little Luz. The chapter title is from Street Life by Randy Crawford. Hope you enjoyed and tell me anything I can fix in the comments.


	3. Do You Dare to Look Them Right in the Eyes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character approaches with a sketchbook! And then later some punks show up, but they don't matter. They just cause pain and trouble for our Luz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly my bad for taking longer than I planned to upload this. But who knew actually going back into class would be so time-consuming. Anyway like always I hope you enjoy and be sure to tell me anything I could fix in the comments. If you haven't noticed, I'm the only one reading through these so there are likely things that could use some work.

Luz couldn’t bring herself eat the gloop and since Mr. Hal made it very clear he wanted no trouble from her, she thought it would be best if she just went back to her room rather than try to help out. As she scraped the wet cement-like food into a nearby trash can she felt someone tap on her shoulder, causing her to jump and almost drop the bowl.

“Whoa! Haha, easy there Stars. I would think you wouldn’t be so freighted seeing as you move pretty quiet yourself.”

Luz let out a small sigh when she immediately recognized the voice, turning to face the creeping menace her suspicions were confirmed as no one other than Jude Redese was looking down at her with that big, cocky grin she always seems to be wearing. She was also wearing some khaki shorts and a neon yellow Peter Point shirt, her iconic burgundy jacket tied around her waist topped off with her military green messenger bag. _‘Of course she would be here today.’_

“Morning Jude.” Luz said curtly.

“Ooof kid, I forget how cold-blooded you can be. Not even one smile for your favorite person.” Jude feinted a hurt expression while clutching her chest before breaking out once again into a huge smile. Luz couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the older girl’s antics as she pushed past her to drop off the now empty bowl, Jude following close behind.

“And I’m guessing my supposed favorite person has a reason for being here so early today that doesn’t involve me doing something for them.” Luz shot back at Jude as she placed the bowl in the dirty dish bin, then walking towards the cafeteria exit. Jude looked at her incredulously with that everlasting grin still on her face.

“Gasp. Are you implying that I didn’t simply drive down here five hours before the event I’m working so that I may offer my help to anyone who might need it?”

“Yes.” The way Luz had replied so matter of factly caused Jude to burst out laugh, her brunette hair bouncing as she does. Luz didn’t mind since they were well into the hallway now and most everyone was either still in the cafeteria or outside. She just didn’t understand why Jude found it so funny when her response was the truth. 

For as long as she has known the now twenty-year-old girl, Jude has never once tried to do more than what was asked of her or actively looked for those who needed help. That is to say that she wasn’t a bad person. If she happened to walk by someone who needed help, she would. She was just a very self-focused person that was sometimes too laid back for her own good. And at other times too chaotic for others. 

Just one of the many reasons why she wasn’t liked as a volunteer at Peter Point, but it wasn’t the kids that didn’t like her. Most of them loved her since she let them do almost anything as long they didn’t get hurt or directly break a rule. And since she could always find a workaround on any rule put in place, it was all was a madhouse when she is on watch. It was the other volunteers and permanent workers of the orphanage that weren’t fond of her since they saw her as being worse than the kids themselves. 

As for Luz, she thought Jude was alright for the most part. Only because the wise-cracking loud mouth had grown on her over the three years of knowing each other. Jude would seek out Luz every shift she volunteered and would want to spend as much time as she could with her. Most of the time she would just want to talk and catch up, but other times she has work that she wants to shirk off onto Luz.

Jude’s laughter died down as she let out a mirthful sigh and wiped away a fake tear in her eye before putting herself in front of Luz to get her to stop walking towards her room.

“Though now that you mention it, I do have this one scene that I can’t get to flow right and a character that could use some tweaking.” She said as she bought a notebook and sketchbook out of her bag. “You wouldn’t mind helping me with that, right Stars?”

It was Luz’s turn to let out a laugh, albeit a lot shorter and more withdrawn than Jude’s. To her, Jude’s actions were like clockwork, despite seeming sporadic to most. So she couldn’t help but laugh at how correct she was with her earlier assumption and how Jude tried to play it off so nonchalantly.

“You know this probably counts as child labor since I don’t get paid and I am doing your work.”

Jude placed her hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Oh my little storyboarder, when my show gets its time in the limelight, I’ll pay you all you deserve. But seeing as right now I am pretty much broke and have been turned down by everyone I’ve pitched it to, I can only pay you with the glory of being around me.” Her cocky smile grew bigger as she said this.

“Well, I guess it’s alright since you can’t even afford to pay yourself,” Luz remarked as she took the books from Jude’s other hand. She never said she **wouldn’t** help.

“Geez, again with the low blows Stars. If I didn’t know how sweet you really are, I would honestly be hurt by how you treat me.” She starts to lead Luz to an office that was on the first floor. Why waste money converting every office in the building when you could cut corners and cram kids into the rooms you have to convert.

“And if I didn’t know how good your show really is, I would honestly not be straining my hand helping you with it.”

Jude loudly laughed once more as they continued to walk down the hall.

Luz lost herself in the stills she was sketching, though she would get lost in anything she was drawing. It was one of the few things that could get her to stay still. She found it relaxing in a way that made her brain just stop and she could just think about what was going on the paper in front of her. But drawing the boards for Jude’s story was something else completely for Luz like she could help but get sucked in. 

The story Jude was trying to tell was in all senses a typical high school comedy-drama that is centered around a sport that is worshiped by the school and town. But rather the sport being the usual ones like football or basketball, it is instead lacrosse. Luz didn’t know much about it or how it was played but that wasn’t really what made her love the story so much. It was the characters, well two in particular. Kristen Lowe and Elena Vanpope.

Elena is the new girl in school who wanted more than anything to finally play a sport since she has muscle hypotonia, but has worked hard in her therapy sessions and is now able to be on a team. She is always one for a challenge so she decides to try her luck at lacrosse, even though it will be harder on her body than other sports and that she would be the only other girl on the team. 

Kristen is that other girl and is not that happy that she is no longer the only girl on the ‘boys’ team. She wore it like a badge and saw it as a way to show everyone how strong she is and how hard she worked to get where she is. So when Elena comes around, Kristen and her friends try to mess with her enough so that she quits. But after a while, she sees how much harder Elena has to work and apologies, even going as far as giving up her spot as team captain until she feels she deserve the spot to try and earn it again. That gives way to their friendship, and what Luz hopes to something even more. She wouldn’t know since whenever she would ask Jude about their relationship she would just get a simple, ‘No spoilers!’.

That didn’t stop Luz from fantasies about how she felt they would become a couple or thinking about a love story of her own. She knew it would likely never happen in real life since no one could like her in that way, but it didn’t stop her from imagining herself walking around the pier while holding hands with a kind of geeky boy or cuddling close with a girl while sharing a blanket and talking about a book they both read. 

Luz was shaken from her trance by Jude when she got up from her spot and made a loud groan as she stretched.

“Alright Stars, ‘bout time we go and get this over with,” She says as she closes the notebook she was writing in then moving over to Luz. “Though I need to be there more than you since I did kind of sign up for this.”

Luz stood up and stretched as well, then looked down at her papers to admire her handy work. She knew she wasn’t great at a lot of things, but art was one thing she was pretty good at and would actually admit that to herself. Jude saw her skill as well or else she wouldn’t have let her help work on what she saw as her first step to her lifelong career.

“Just leave me here then. Tell Mr. Hal I’m sleeping or something.” Luz gathers her papers into a neat pile and hands them to Jude.

“Heh, like heck I am. If I’m going to suffer through this, I’m gonna drag you along with me.”

“If it brings you such suffering, why do you keep volunteering?” 

“Well, where else am I going to find someone to push my workload on?” Jude asked jokingly as she rose Luz’s sketches to her face, studying them closely. “And to get such high quality too. Talk about a bang for my broke.”

Luz chuckled at her play on words and took her compliment to heart. It’s not like she gets many of them nowadays. 

“Alright, I guess I have no choice then.” 

Luz made her way to the door as Jude sticks the stray papers in a folder then in her bag then following her. Luz switches the lights off as they leave the room.

The backfield was made up like how it always was on viewing day. Plastic tables were strewn around with volunteers stationed at each, armed with more adoption papers than there were kids. Toys and various activities also littered the field as to have the kids seem like they still had their innocence intact. The same signs that they’ve used since the place opened were hanging on the fence that wrapped around. Luz had to admit, they were at least smart enough to build a fence with spikes pointed up at the top to keep whatever was in that forest out. The only downside was the occasional squirrel that tried to jump from a forest tree into the field looking for a belly full of nuts only to get a belly impaled with steel. Luz hated the fact that she was already numb to the sight of death and didn’t get disgusted like all the other kids. Just another reason why she was seen as the weird kid.

“Alright Stars, have fun looking like a ‘model child’ for the onlookers while I go check-in, I’ll try to find you again before this ends. That is unless you want to spice things up, then I beg you to come and find me before you do.” Jude said while doing finger guns at Luz. She was always down to cause some trouble if it meant sedating her boredom.

“Likely won’t but I’ll keep that in mind.” Luz quickly retorted while doing the same motion back at her. Jude laughed and gave Luz a heavy pat on the back before walking off with a small wave. Luz could feel the small smile on her face disappear as she watched Jude walk towards one of the tables. She didn’t have many reasons to truly smile anymore, but she was glad that Jude was one. Though she would never tell her that to her face.

Luz weaved her way past the other kids that were filling onto the field and made her way to the oak tree that was planted about two years ago to make the field look less barren. Though that doesn’t work when you only plant one tree. The tree wasn’t as great as her spot on the window sill, in Luz’s opinion, but it was out of the way and cool with shade, so for her it was good enough. She clears a spot of leaves and twigs before sitting down and leaning her back against the still growing trunk. Her right foot began tapping against the air as she looked up to the sunlight shining through the leaves. She lets herself fall deep into her racing mind, humming snippets of a song she couldn’t remember the name of but felt right with her mood right now, as potential parents are let through the gate and welcomed. Right now she was too focused on her non-existent love life to put on an act for some strangers.

Luz can’t say that she has fallen for anyone, much less found someone she wanted to spend her life with. It’s not to say that she didn’t have a small attraction here and there, she just never dared to pursue it or get to know that person to see if a connection was there. She didn’t even have a best friend that she might fall in love with since she never talked to anybody. 

_‘Maybe living the rest of my life alone and with no one to fall back on won’t be so bad.’_ It took Luz less than a second to realize how sad that sounded. She let out a long, tired sigh.

“I thought you said all the ladies were swooning over you, not sighing the minute you come in view.” A young male voice said in a joking tone, startling Luz as now notices three boys that seemed to sneak up on her.

All three looked maybe a year younger than Luz, the tallest one with short blond hair was the one that talked but it wasn’t directed to Luz. He was talking to the boy with dyed blue hair that was starting to fade who was shooting him an annoyed sneer while the boy with enough hair that he had it in a man bun was failing to hold back a laugh.

Blue hair scoffed at his friend like he was brushing him off but was not going to forget the comment. He once again focused his attention on Luz who was staring at the three of them with blatant confusion and slight fear on her face. People didn’t just walk up to her unless they looking to cause trouble or to scapegoat trouble onto her. And the way Blue hair was looking at her, he was likely going to do both.

“Don’t mind my friends, they’re idiots. I just wanted to know if you could help us out with something.”

“And that would be?” Luz said tersely but told herself off in her head for responding to him.

“Oh, we’ve got on with an attitude here boys, and I didn’t even say want we wanted.” Blue looked back to the other two with mock pain. Man bun now spoke up.

“Lucky for us that’s exactly what we need.”

“Right you are,” Blue turns back to Luz and pointed towards her. “See, we need you and that attitude to draw attention to a ‘fight’ that **you** started with some poor younger boys so that some parents take pity on us and feel better about themselves for bring us tortured children into their comfy homes and away from the mean older bully.”

Luz didn’t know what made her more upset, the fact that they were trying to put this convoluted plan into action or the fact that they decided to have her play the part of their mock antagonist. Luz wanted nothing more than to get away from them, but she only now noticed that they had moved to block her from escaping. Maybe she could catch them off guard and push past them.

“And what makes you think I will go along with this?”

Blue, with a look in his eye like he expected her to say that, almost laughed at Luz’s inquiry. “I suppose you can do it out of the goodness of your heart, helping a couple of kids that are sick of this place leave it in the dust. And it’s not like you have a reputation to keep up or anything, so no skin off your back right.” The boys all took a step forward, closing off Luz’s view even more

“Yeah. You don’t even have to worry about missing out on a possible adoption since no one would willingly adopt you.” Tall blond added on, causing the boys to start howling with laughter. Little did Luz know their laughing caused a few passersby to look their way.  
“Ha. Ha, I bet...I bet that’s why she is stuck here in the first place. NOt even her real parents wanted her.” Man bun stuttered from laughing so hard.

Luz promptly stood up at that but just so she could get away from them, not to punch them in their dumb faces. Even though a worse part of her told her to, she just didn’t have the mental fortitude or patience to be around them for another second. Besides, it had already become clear to her that they were just trying to get her angry enough to go along with their plan anyway. She took this as her chance to push through.

“Yeah, not happening!” Luz rushed forward but barely got her arm past them before she felt a strong tug on her hood. They weren’t going to let her go that easily and expected her to go along with their plan whether she wanted to or not. They just didn’t expect what happened next.

Tall blond, the one that grabbed Luz’s hood, was stronger than he seemed at first glance. Stronger than even he thought as he pulls so hard that Luz is thrown back onto the trunk of the tree, feeling a string of pain shoot through her back and the wind leaving her lungs. But before she can let out the breathless yelp building in her throat, a wasp hive of all things falls and lands directly on blue hair after being shaken off an extending branch from the vibrations of Luz’s impact. The wasps were not happy.

They began flying out of the cracked hive and took their anger out on whatever was closes to them, which happened to be the three bullies. The boys ran like their butts were on fire, or like they were trying to get away from a swarm of wasp, while Luz just watched as she tried to regain her breath and slid back down to the ground. They did say they wanted to garner attention, and man were they getting it now.

Almost everyone in the backfield was looking towards them since they were screaming at the top of their lungs and anyone who was in their way quickly moved aside as to not be a victim of the wasps’ wrath. When volunteers and permanent workers alike began to try to calm the boys down and keep them away from the general public so that they could deescalate the situation, Luz knew it would be best for her to get as far from the scene as possible.

She staggered to her feet by using the tree as support and pushed past the pain in her back as she attempted to shuffle away from the chaos. The keyword being ‘attempted’ since she didn’t even make it two steps before someone blocked her path.

“How did I know you won’t be far from this mess?” Mr. Hal stood like a brick wall with his arms crossed. He looked about as happy as those wasps felt.

“W-what can I say sir, you truly are a psychic.” Luz said with a nervous smile and the anxiousness mixed with pain clear in her voice.

This was not going to end well for her, no matter what she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the same back pain boat as Luz except mine wasn't caused by a bunch of dipsticks, but rather my horrible sitting habits. 
> 
> Also, can we talk about the tv show idea Jude has? It's actually a story idea I had a while back, but now that I think about it, that could be a pretty good Owl House AU with a bit of tweaking. Like I could see Luz and Amity playing Elena and Kristen respectively. Maybe I write that in the future. Or maybe I could let one of ya'll write if you feel so inclined. But enough talk from me, got to get the formal stuff out of the way.
> 
> Title is from 'Way Down We Go' by KALEO and the song Luz was humming is 'I Think We're Alone Now' by Tiffany.
> 
> Stay tuned for the next installment of 'When are we going to get out of this orphanage?!' coming sometime next week.


	4. Before the Final Crack of Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crap happens, Luz gets hurt, Orphanage is a bad place, what's new there? Tis a shame that our dear Luz can't seem to catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter fresh off the press(though a little late, my bad)! 
> 
> You know lately, I've been getting this sense of accomplishment and pride whenever I complete a chapter and then see how much you all enjoy it. I couldn't see at first what was so great about my writing, but now I have a bit more confidence in it.
> 
> But enough of that, enjoy the chapter!

Luz was not having a good time, and not just because she had nothing to counteract the pain still very much present in her back. Mr. Hal had demanded her to go directly to his office, rather than the nurse, while he stayed outside to help de-escalate the situation. So there she sat, awkwardly in an old wooden chair that was made for five-year-olds. It was an intimidation tactic that Luz thought had long lost its effect on her, but the sporadic bouncing of her leg and her constant looking around said otherwise. Her nervous habits were not helping her back that she was sure was starting to bruise.

At least she told herself that they were nervous habits because, in a place like this, they couldn’t be anything but. 

She looked at the lamp with a plain white lampshade that sat on Mr. Hal’s thick mahogany desk. It was off at the moment as natural light flooded the room through the lone window.

_‘It’s still the one that you have to turn the knob. I thought a kid smashed his last one. Did he just get the same lamp?’_

Her focus jumped to the coffee-stained napkin that was a little ways away from the lamp.

_‘Dark roast most likely, the residing smell is evidence enough.’_

Then to the stuffed deer’s head hanging on the wall to the right of her.

_‘Hi Jackson, how have you been lately.’_

The picture of Mr. Hal and his family in Christmas sweaters.

_‘I’m getting itchy from just looking at them.’_

The screams of the boys that she could still hear in her mind.

_NOPE! Not worrying about them right now! The adult will get everything under control and they will be fine, right?_

Before she can properly reassure herself the door behind her began to open, the hinges squeaking from the strain.

_‘Oh crap’_

Luz didn’t bother to look back as she knew there was one person who could be entering the small office and she wasn’t quite ready to look him in his eyes.

“Nice to see you can follow at least one set of instructions Ms. Noceda.” Mr. Hal said in his low voice he used whenever he meant business. 

Luz had heard this voice many times before, but it sounded different this time. As if it was filled with true disdain and disapproval. Though, when he came into view and Luz got a good look at his face, it became clear very quickly that it was. The look and tone he took with her earlier didn’t even come close to this. Luz was almost afraid that she was never going to see the other side of the closed door.

Mr. Hal made his way around his desk before tersely sitting in his chair. He placed his elbows on the desk as he scooted his chair forward then rested his chin on his outstretched thumbs, the rest of his fingers covering his mouth. He just stared at Luz, watching to see if she would squirm under his gaze. Out of all the times she has had to sit before him in the toddler chair, this was the first time he took the intimidation tactics to such a high level. And it was just too much for Luz. The minute she looked away, he took it as a win and began his likely preplanned tirade. 

“Do you know Noceda? How many times I have downplayed your little ‘incidents’ in the reports in the past? How many chances I gave you to fix your act so that maybe you could find a family. How much time I put into getting volunteers to look after you specifically and keep you out of trouble?” He said in a cold voice, his volume never going higher than his regular speaking voice but still had the same impact as if he was yelling. Though it had a dulled effect on Luz she was more focused on the punch in the gut that the last sentence he said gave her.

_‘He… what? That means…. Jude, why?’_

Luz had once wondered what made Jude walk up to her on that day three years ago. She eventually just assumed that Jude just wanted someone to bombard with details about her then newly created show idea and saw Luz as the perfect target. Or that just maybe Jude saw her as something other than the Peter Point weird kid or as one of the problem children.

Luz wished she could have just held on to those delusions rather than having the truth strike her so deeply in the heart. Mr. Hal didn’t even give her time to have the sting of the revelation to subside.

“No, you don’t. Because I believe that no child was truly bad, just unable to see the consequences that their actions have on the world around them. I believe that if I gave children well-placed lenients and careful guidance they would learn to better themselves as a form of gratitude. But you, Ms. Noceda, have been making it really hard to stay true to my beliefs.”

“I would have continued to hold out hope for you if all you had done today was push someone or collapsed a table, but to hit others with a wasp nest and then try to slip away as if you could play the innocent bystander is unforgivable. Do you even know what one wasp sting can do, let alone multiple? I mean do you even have anything to say for yourself?” 

That wasn’t completely fair to Luz. She wasn’t trying to cause trouble wherever she went, it just always seemed to follow her. And yet for how much he spouted about watching her closely he still painted her as a bad kid. So yeah she had something to say.

“Are they going to be okay?”

That was not what Mr. Hal expected her to say, and it was for sure not what Luz expected to say. But underneath the hurt of learning how she was perceived, the sting of betrayal from the one person she let get close to her, and residual anger towards the boys, she was truly worried about their well being and had placed some of the blame for what happened on herself. And Mr. Hal seemed to have picked up on that truthfulness and shame in her voice.

He stopped for a minute, clearly thinking of how he was going to word his next sentence. Releasing a sigh, he allowed his eyes to soften as he looked at her.

“The boys will live, they just need to spend some time in the hospital to recover. And no one else will get hurt since Pair-ent to Children day was called off. No one is allowed in the backfield until all the wasps have been cleared and that tree is taken down so that nothing like this happens again.”

Oh, the other kids are not going to take that well. The backfield was their only form of escape despite being only a few feet from the prison that they were all trapped in. 

“Hmm… well, that’s good. Shame about the tree, it was one of my favorite spots.” Luz stuttered awkwardly. She wasn’t sure if his words made her feel better, but didn’t want to dwell on that just yet. As Mr. Hal looked to speak again, and something in her gut told her she was about to be feeling a whole lot worse.

“Yes well, even if we could keep the tree, you would not have been able to sit next to it anymore.”

Luz was confused, a feeling she very rarely had. Was she on probation or something? Only allowed back outside if she could prove she wasn’t the menace she was made out to be. Mr. Hal could see the confusion on her face, his own growing softer with a look of pity in his eyes. He then said the words that Luz would remember for the rest of her life.

“I’m sorry Luz, but I can not continue to cover for you. You are going to be transferred to the Coupera Institute.”

Time seemed to come at a standstill as though words make Luz’s blood run cold. Though her thoughts were going hot.

_‘The Coupera Institute. He really thinks I’m that bad. That I deserve to suffer for the next few years of my life.’_

If Peter Point was seen as a jail, then Coupera was a maximum-security prison. Its surrounding walls are said to be made of cinder blocks and twenty feet high. The rooms designed for isolation to keep kids in line. But it wasn’t just how the place looked that made it feel like a prison. The Institute had many horror stories associated with it, most of them told throughout the orphanage to scare even the worse of kids. From the stories Luz has heard, the way things were run there sounded like a conversion camp on steroids. And now she was being sent there.

_‘There has to be some way to change his mind.’_

“I’m already having the paperwork finalized and there will be someone to pick you up first thing tomorrow. There is nothing you can do.” It was as if he could see her thoughts. 

This was happening, and she was stuck going along with it. Mr. Hal made it clear how this was never up for debate.

“You may go gather your things and say goodbye to anyone you wish. I expect to not hear about any more trouble from you.”

He gets up to the door for Luz, waiting for her to make her exit. But a small part of her didn’t want to leave the office, didn’t want to leave Peter Point. And not just because of where she was being sent. It was because of the familiarity of the place, which gave her comfort despite the numerous bad things that had happened to her over those six years. If it meant not having to be transferred, Luz would have stayed in that office for the rest of her life. And yet she got up from her seat anyway, reminded of her likely bruised back with a shock of pain and started to feel the headache forming from the barrage of information. She pushed past it as she walked through the open passageway. Once in the hallway, the door closed behind her.

_‘I should have said goodbye to Jackson one last time.’_

Her feet dragged as she walked down the hall, wanting to walk as slow as possible. She thought that maybe the universe would at least be kind enough to let her savor what little time she had left in Peter Point. But when have things worked out for her.

As she turned into a more active hallway, the kids around her slowed their conversion or stopped in the middle of whatever joke they were telling to glare at her. Luz was right, all the other kids were not taking being unable to go outside well. Their glares and muttered insults hit Luz like bullets, causing her to pick up her pace and focus more on those she passed. It was an unspoken rule that if you wronged someone, they were in the right to get even and that often meant getting a couple of punches to the gut. So the last thing she needed was to be caught in the middle of an angry crowd of orphans that believed she wronged them. 

Unfortunately, since Luz was so focused on watching her back she didn’t notice that someone was obstructing her path until she bumped into them. She flinched, expecting the person to throw a punch but no fists came. She looked up to see that the person she ran into was the boy with jet black hair from the cafeteria earlier, with his red-haired friend standing next to him and both of them were smiling at her. They weren’t smiling maliciously though, more like they were grateful smiles which were odd to Luz as she had earned the scorn of the entirety of Peter Point, and yet these two looked at her like she was their savior or something. What was even stranger was that the boys never said a single word to her, Red just patted her on her shoulder before both he and Black turned around and walked away rather quickly.

Luz was so caught up in the weird interaction that she didn’t notice that she had stopped moving, or that she had given the other kids a perfect moment to strike. She didn’t see her mistake until she felt a heavy kick to the back and toppled to the floor. The pain she already had in her back was multiplied by ten as whoever kicked her was now grinding their shoe on her back. Luz let out a pained yell and tried her hardest to get from underneath them. But she was stuck, pinned to the ground as all hell broke loose.

Kick after kick came raining down on her as Luz did her best to cover her head. With every kick came a curse or an insult, saying how a screw up like her deserved to be beaten, how a freak like her should have never been allowed to stay here. Luz took it all because that darker part of her had told her all those things and worse before. And the other parts of her believed it.

**  
_You truly are nothing but a pathetic little wrench_  
**

_‘I know’_

**  
_You deserve worse than a beating from a couple of grade-schoolers_  
**

_‘I...I know’_

Everything was going dark, the yelling becoming more muffed by the second.

****  
_This world would be better off if yo-_  


“HEY!!” A yell rang clear through the hall. 

The kicks ceased as all the kids looked to where the voice came from to find out who was yelling at them, but Luz knew all too well who it was. Down at the end of the hall that Luz had come from stood Jude, but gone were her cheeky smile and laid back attitude. They were replaced with a wrathful frown and unbridled anger coursing through her veins. Her voice was harsh and cold, a tone no one had ever heard her use. So to say that the other kids were scared out of their wits would be an understatement.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” Jude yelled once more as she began to run towards the group.

She wasn’t even halfway to them before the kids bolted, some even had the gall to step on Luz as they made their getaway. Jude wanted more than anything to run after them but she knew she wouldn’t be able to catch them all. Besides, there was someone that needed her attention a lot more than a couple of hoodlums.

Now that Jude could get a good look at the victim, her heart dropped to the bottom of her gut when she instantly recognized the person laying on the ground. She quickly dropped to her knees so that she could check that Luz was still conscious.

“Stars, are you still with me? Can you squeeze my hand?” Jude placed her hand into Luz’s, holding her breath waiting for a response. It was as though she didn’t know what relief was until she felt that weak squeeze from Luz’s bruising hand. Jude let out a sigh and lightly brushed her thumb on the top of it.

“Okay, just stay awake, I’m taking you to the nurse. This might hurt a little.”

Jude moved to try and pick Luz but stopped when she shifted away, a rather impressive feat given how much pain she was in.

“Stars, wh-”

“W-why do you care anyway.”

Luz almost wanted to hit herself. Was this really the time to bring that up?

“What do you mean ‘why do I care’? You just got jumped and beaten to the pulp, how could I not care?”

“I k-know okay. You’re only around me because Hal m-made you, so you don’t have to p...pretend anymore.” 

Luz was still lying face down so she could see the shocked look on Jude’s face, but the shift in her breathing allowed Luz to pick up on how much those words hurt.

“Okay Luz, you need to stop talking. Not just because of how much stress it’s putting on your body, but because what you’re saying is complete bull. 

‘She called me by my first name.’

Luz couldn’t remember the last time Jude had called her by her name, so her doing so now really meant something.

“Yes, it’s true Hal wanted me to play stool pigeon for him, but do you honestly think I would do anything for him. I didn’t even want to volunteer here to tell you the truth. My parents forced me so that I could put it on my college applications and they hoped it would teach me some responsibility. Heh, we both know how well that ‘being responsible’ thing is going.”

Luz chuckled at that and immediately regretted it; her sides were where she was kicked the most.

“Ahh sorry, sorry. No more jokes. What I’m saying is that I would have just gone on with my life after my first year here, but I stayed because I met you and it was on my terms. Honestly, when Hal was telling me about you I tuned out because I didn’t want to work on some special case. But when I first looked at you I could see you were anything but. You had and still have this energy that is so strong and inspiring that even being in this place for so long hasn’t gotten rid of it. Dulled it a little, but never extinguished. And it was that energy that made me want to try getting my show picked up again. That made me want to keep volunteering here for years longer than I planned. It was...it.”

Jude’s voice grew softer and a little strained. Luz had to face her now so ignoring all of the pain she turned her head looked up at her, albeit with some difficulty. Thankfully Jude placed her other hand under Luz’s chin to help keep her head up. Now being able to look her in the eyes, Jude continued what she was saying.

“It was because of that energy that I wanted to adopt you.”

Luz had a weird mix of feelings in her heart. Of course, she would love nothing more than for Jude to be the one to adopt her rather than some strangers, but she didn’t see Jude as a mom, more like a cool older sister. Well maybe their relationship didn’t have to change, it could just be seen as getting better, right? But the sense of melancholy she was getting from Jude told her things would not get better. Once again the universe finds a way to screw her over.

“I-it’s too late, isn’t it? I messed it up.”

“Hey I said not to talk, and no you didn’t mess it up, Hal did. I’m not entirely sure what happened out there but I know for damn sure you would never use tactical wasps on anyone and you definitely don't deserve to go to that prison for something you didn’t do. But he wouldn’t listen to me and just put in the forms. So to spite him I will help in any way that doesn’t get me in trouble with the federal government.”

Luz couldn’t help but let a smile grace her face, something about Jude going from reassuring her to sticking it to Mr. Hal but not wanting to mess with the government just made her situation a little brighter. And when Luz was given even a smidge of light, she could take it and have it shining even brighter.

“Okay, I g-guess you do care. I just hope you still do when I tell you my plan.”

“I’d rather you get some treatment and rest before we do any plans, but yeah I’m on board.”

“Don’t worry, I know you’ll make sure I get plenty. Besides I will need all the strength I can muster up if I’m going to break out of here tonight.”

“Ohh, now you're speaking my language Stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real story is about to begin, so hold out for next week to see how things play out! It's gonna be a real hoot.
> 
> Chapter title from "Bat out of Hell" by Meat Loaf. Who knew I had the attention span to listen to a nine minute long song?
> 
> Leave a comment if there is anything I could fix, to talk about your favorite part, or just to vent about your day. I don't mind.


	5. I Know the Sun Must Set to Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan is set into motion, and it goes about as well as you expect it to.
> 
> TW: Suicide Mentioned/Implied, Bruises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so real quick before you go on reading. In the time between when I post this chapter and whenever I post the next, I'll be going back to earlier parts of the story to fix some things. They will be pretty minor fixes here and there so there isn't really a need to go back. But if you want to see if you can spot the changes then be my guest.
> 
> By the way, I have a Tumblr account by the name of orangejuicetoast42. It doesn't have any posts but if you guys have any questions about this Au or want to hear about my many other story ideas feel free to ask me there. 
> 
> Also sorry for how long it took to update this, my classes have not been kind to me. That out of the way, enjoy the chapter. It's nice and long just for you guys.

The plan they set was simple. Well not exactly, it was rather risky and relied on quite a few variables. Such as the other workers or kids not finding out and the guards not walking down certain halls. The only part of the plan that was straightforward was the constraint that was placed on them, more so on Jude. They both agreed that no matter what, it had to look as if Jude had nothing to do with Luz’s escape. This placed a great deal of whether or not the plan would work on Luz’s shoulders, which probably wasn’t the best thing for her at the moment since she could barely carry the weight of her own body.

After a failed attempt to stand up on her own, Jude scooped her up and bridal carried Luz back to her room while making sure to stick to the less used hallways and stairwells to avoid any prying eyes. Luz couldn’t tell if the ease of Jude carrying her was due to Jude being stronger than she seemed or that Luz was really light from skipping out on eating the cafeteria’s slop so often. Then again she was far more focused on how each step Jude took sent waves of pain throughout her sore body so she wasn’t in the mood to solve that mystery.

When they reached the room Jude struggled a bit to open the door with Luz in her arms. She just couldn’t seem to get that good of a grip on the rounded doorknob, only able to turn it halfway with her two free fingers before it would slip and make a loud clunk sound. Luz could see that Jude getting frustrated with the darn thing and was about to suggest that she just put her down for a moment despite knowing how much those extra motions would assault her body. Though she didn’t get a chance to say anything as she heard the knob turn fully and the door began to creak open. But Jude wasn’t the one to open it.

“Now what in the hell is- Oh Crap!” Bottom Bunk’s voice that was laced with annoyance quickly turned to surprise and a bit of worry as she registered a volunteer holding her battered roommate. The two were a far cry from the mischievous punks pulling a prank she had expected to see. Jude pushing past her and walking into the small room uninvited was what pulled her from her stupor.

“Wait! Hold on now. I don’t mean to butt in ta… whatever this is, but she seems pretty ruffled up. So shouldn’t she be with the nurse rather than here?”

Jude barely spared her a glance, she was fixated on finding a spot to lay Luz down where she would be the most comfortable. A lower bunk would be ideal, as Jude still needed to treat Luz’s injuries.

“Which one of these is yours?” It took Bottom Bunk a bit too long to realize that Jude’s question was directed at her seeing as Luz looked like she was going to pass out so there weren’t too many other people she could have been asking.

“Oh! Uhh, the lower one to yah left.” Jude moved closer to the bunk that was pointed out and gently placed Luz on it, laying her on her stomach. “But wait, You still didn’t answer ma question!”

When Jude was sure Luz was in a comfortable position, she finally turned to Bottom Bunk who assumed she was finally going to be properly acknowledged. Instead, Jude simply ushered her out of the room and closed the door once both of them were in the hallway.

“Alright, I think I’ve had just enough of-” Bottom Bunk was cut off by Jude’s hand over her mouth.

“Geez, do you have to be so loud?” Jude said in an uncharacteristic hushed voice.

“Uh Yeah! Especially if ya come bangin’ on the door while holding ma roommate who looks like she tried ta take a nosedive off the roof and not sayin’ a word.” Bottom Bunk looks back at the door. “She didn’t, right?”

It wasn’t a completely outlandish question, Peter Point did have a few cases of that sort of thing happening, unfortunately. Luckily, none ever resulted in death as the building wasn’t tall enough, just very severe injuries. Though even the thought of Luz doing such a thing caused Jude’s stomach to contort.

“NO! Oh god no! What happened to her isn’t really for me to say if she doesn’t want me to, but I can say this. She needs my help right now and if anyone else finds out she will be in worse shape than she is now, so please don’t say anything. Can you do that one thing?”

Now if something like this had happened when Bottom Bunk first arrived at Peter Point, she would have run off and immediately told someone about this given how shady this seemed, but her time there taught her one lesson above all others. A person’s eyes tell more than their words. So when she looked into Jude’s and saw endless worry and concern for the girl she was just carrying in her arms, she knew what she had to do.

“Alright, I won’t say anything. Though she needs some medical ah’ttention and while I’m sure you might of had that covered, I’ma stay with her till you get her some.” BB said with conviction. Or at least she did until she felt she had gone too far. “I mean...if that’s alright an’ all.”

Jude looked in astonishment at the blond who was nervously rubbing the back of her head. If the situation were different, she would have laughed at the action. _‘What is this, an anime?’_

Cracking her knuckles, Jude thought a bit more about her response.  
_‘She does seem pretty set on this and it would be bad to leave Luz by herself the way she is. Maybe...she isn’t like those other chumps.’_

“Okay, you watch her for me. But first, you have to tell me your name.”

“Huh?”

“I mean can’t expect me to leave you with her and not know your name, right?”

“Oh, right. It’s L- um uh I mean Alexis.” She seemed to shutter a little.

It was a rather small cue but Jude knew a lot about paying attention to the little details. 

“Eh, no offense but that’s just a bit too close to one of those talking hockey pucks. Do you mind if I just call you Lex instead?”

“Oh! Yeah, I don’t mind.” Her excitement was palpable, even though she was trying to hide it.

Jude sighed, although she felt a little better from their interaction, she knew she still had a job to do. So she promptly turned to walk down the hall that leads to the nurse’s office.

“Alright Lex, please keep her safe for me. I’ll try not to take too long.” Jude looked over her shoulder and gave a small smirk before turning back and picking up her pace. 

Taking a deep breath, Lex faced the door and opened it as quietly as she could. Swiftly she stepped back inside the room and closed the door behind her, hoping she didn’t wake Luz if the younger had drifted to sleep. ‘Wait, that would be a bad thing, wouldn’t it ?!’

Luckily she didn’t have to sit on her fears for long.

“You d-don’t have to just stand there you know.” Luz’s voice sounded pained and tired. Only louder than a whisper. And while she tried her best to look directly at Lex, her eyes were barely open. 

“Oh.” It was all she could say before Lex moved closer to the bunk, then sat on the floor. It’s not like they had a chair or anything. Now that she was closer she could see the black eye starting to form over the right side of Luz’s face, though tried not to show that she was looking. “Right, I was just thinkin’ about all this.”

“And you’re still wondering what happened,” Luz said with the ghost of a smile on her face after seeing Lex’s startled face.

“Now how did you-”

“Thin walls.” It was a bigger problem than most thought. The fact that someone could pick up on conversions from a room away lead to a lot of blackmail, secrets spilled, and fights from said blackmail and secrets. It was quite a take on the saying ‘if these walls could talk’. Though in times like this, it could prove useful.

“Ahh, well don’t you mind that. It’s your business an’ I just wanted ta make sure you were alright.” Lex turned her head away to try and hide her embarrassment from her prying.

Her words soothed Luz a little as she was not in the mood to talk about how she was ganged up on, but at the same time, they made her feel worse than she already did, though not in the same way. She felt kind of bad that the older girl was here looking after her, and yet she didn’t even know her name until she heard it through the wall. They barely knew each other and now they would likely never get the chance to become further acquitted.

To Luz, it meant she wouldn’t be able to make this up to her. Or...maybe she could.

“I’m...not exactly sure...who they were, but I was jumped by a group of kids. It took Jude chasing them off to get them to stop.” Luz had closed her eyes since it pained her to turn her head, but she didn’t want to look at Lex as she spoke. “She’s even going as far as helping me leave this place.”

The blonde was shocked, to say the least, and not just because Luz was honest with her about what happened. Like many things of this nature, it wasn’t uncommon for a kid to take a beating in a deserted hall. Though it was odd for it to be more than three kids to be doing the beating. It was very rare for so many different ‘cliques’ to team up for anything, let alone jump a single person. Lex couldn’t help but feel bad for Luz and the amount of hatred aimed at her.

“Pff, what a bunch of ass wipes. I’m glad Ms. Jude got there to deal with them.” Just because she felt pity didn’t mean she was going to voice it. Lex knew all too well how it felt to have someone feel sorry for her. Not that mattered too much now.

She was drawn from her feelings by the barely audible chuckle coming from Luz.

“Yeah, they are. And though I’m glad she was there too, Jude isn’t always that helpful.” Her face seemed to glow a little as she thought back on her past experiences with Jude. Lex noticed this change in appearance and couldn’t help wanting to learn more.

“Really? She seemed pretty competent to me.”

“Heh, she is for the most part, though the way she goes about solving problems isn’t always that great. Like with the yarn ball incident.”

“The Yarn ball incident? I think I heard of that happenin’ but never got a real good tellin’ of it.” 

“Well lucky for you, I have a first-person account of the whole thing, mostly because I was part of the reason it happened.”

Lex shifted so that she was in a more comfortable position, ready to hear the story and more importantly, keep Luz’s mind off of her injuries.

“I’m all ears then.” 

With that, Luz began to recount the story of Jude’s mischief at it’s finest and her involvement with it all.

Jude had made it back to the room fifteen minutes after her departure with a black backpack in tow. Not that the two inhabitants noticed right away. Both were occupied with the story that Luz was still telling. She couldn’t help but tell it like she had read the memory from a book, then now got to act it out. Luz hadn’t been able to do anything like this for some time and she didn’t know how much she missed it. Lex personally loved the way Luz kept her entrapped with this crazy story. It was clear that storytelling was a talent of hers.

“So Jude, just narrowly avoiding all the stands, grabs the scissors that could free us all and you know what she does?”

“Ha, what? What did she do?”

“I told them if they didn’t admit defeat I would leave them all hanging by their ankles. Though, if I knew she would just talk about me behind my back I would have left Stars here seeing everything upside down too.” Jude said before Luz had a chance to answer and made her presence known to the teens.

“Jude you’re back. Did you get everything?” Luz said, only a little salty that she didn’t get to finish the story herself. Jude was just glad that she sounded better than she did before.

She simply nodded in response and opened the backpack to show the supplies that she had gathered. A couple of gel ice packs, a bundle of white wraps, and two bottles of water took up the biggest compartment of the bag.

“Hmm, how’d you manage to get this bag?” Lex asked as she began to pull the supplies out and place them next to Luz. Though she didn’t get her answer right away.

Jude looked to Luz, seeming to be asking her if it was alright to explain. Luz simply nodded as a sign of confirmation.

“It’s my backpack, the one I usually use for school. I felt Stars would need it more than I do now, so I don’t mind giving it up.” She takes out one of the waters and digs a little further in the bag to pull out a plastic bag with a few ibuprofen and crackers in it and a small tube of some sort of cream.

“Okay, how did you get those?” Luz’s curiosity wasn’t completely unfounded. Peter Point’s nurse wasn’t known to give out medicine so easily, even when it was needed. “There’s no way she gave you all this stuff and these pills.”

“You’re right about that. But just because she didn’t exactly ‘give’ me all of this doesn’t mean I couldn’t get it.” Jude did her best to ignore Luz’s disapproving gaze, but it was too strong. “Oh enough of that, I did it for you so that has to make up for it, right.”

Luz held her gaze a bit longer before relenting. Jude was just trying to help her after all, so it didn’t feel right to be mad at her for that. She just wished Jude didn’t have that dumb grin on her face as if she won or something.

“I knew you wouldn’t be upset with me. Now take one of these and it should numb you for a few hours.”

“I don’t think that’s how those work,” Lex stated as she moved back to give Jude and Luz some space.

Jude fed her a few crackers then opened the bottle and brought it to Luz’s mouth. It was then Luz noticed how thirsty she was and began to guzzle the water down.

“Whoa! Easy there Stars, you need at least some water to take this thing.”

Reluctantly, Luz slowed her drinking to a stop and forced herself to hold a sizable amount of it in her mouth. Jude pulled the bottle away and held out one of the pills for Luz to take. She quickly popped it in her mouth and swallowed it all in one gulp.

“ Right so, this next part is going to be…uncomfortable.” Jude turned towards Lex. “If you don’t mind, could you turn around or something. If you’re okay with that, Stars.” 

Luz thought for a minute. She wouldn’t feel right with just kicking Lex out of the room, so having her look the other way seemed to be the best option. “Yeah, that’s fine.” 

“Alright, I’ll just stand over here then.” Lex moved to stand in front of the door, her back to them.

“I know I shouldn’t really be using these wraps, but they're the best I could get so I’ll have to make them work. Anyway, whenever you’re ready okay.”

Luz took as deep of a breath as she could before slowly letting it out. She was just glad that her backside took the beating rather than her front. “Alright let’s do this.” 

Jude slowly lifted her hoodie and shirt to reveal Luz’s bare skin that was covered with splotches of blackish purple and areas of moderate swelling. It took everything in her to keep her hands from shaking upon seeing the damage those kids had caused. Jude wanted nothing more than to find them and give them hell, but she knew Luz needed her right now so she pushed her anger aside and focused on what she had to do.

She uncapped the tube of cream and squeezed some of it along Luz’s back, which seemed to be the most bruised. As gently as she could, she rubbed it in and tried to overlook the gut-wrenching feeling she got whenever Luz let out a small cry of pain. Once she could no longer see the white of the cream, Jude carefully laid down two of the ice packs, one higher than the other. She then helped Luz lift herself a bit so that she could properly ring the wraps around. Not too tight so it doesn’t irritate the bruises and bumps, but not too loose that the packs would fall out of place. 

Once she felt it was good enough, Jude moved on to repeat this process with Luz’s legs, arms, neck, and hands. She of course couldn’t wrap ice packs on her hands, so she simply applied the cream and wrapped them with bandages. Then placed the packs on top of her resting hands. The whole treatment took about thirty minutes, though for Luz it felt more like thirty hours.

Luz let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding once Jude stepped back and began to fold the remaining wraps properly. When it was tightly rolled up, she took a rubber band from a small pocket on the backpack to hold it. Then placed the roll, the two leftover ice packs, and the tube of cream in said pocket. Jude wanted to leave as much room as possible for Luz to hold the essentials. Speaking of which, she needed to go out and get those.

Standing up she wiped the excess cream off her hands onto her shorts, then cracked her neck. “You can turn back around Lex.”

Lex had sat down at some point but never once looked anywhere that wasn’t the door, so when finally given the okay to move around again, she gladly stood up and walked over to Luz to see how she was doing.

“Thank goodness, ma leg was startin’ ta go dead on me. How are ya doin’ Scruff?”

“C-c-could be a b-bit warmer.” Luz’s teeth chattered through her words and a chill ran up her spine every few minutes. Her body wasn’t used to the difference in temperature with the ice packs.

“Here, this should help some.” Lex grabbed the thin blanket that was pushed to the foot of the bed and covered Luz with it. She knew it wouldn’t do much, but it was better than nothing. Though maybe it did make a bit of a difference as Luz let out a loud yawn. Nightmares, dealing with bullies, wasps, getting told you’re being shipped off, and jumpings are very tiring you know. And with the ibuprofen finally starting to take effect, Luz felt that sleep was possible now.

Jude chuckled as Luz let out another yawn. “It shouldn’t take me too long to go the closest Belmart and grab everything you need, so you ca-”

She was cut off by the alarm that rang throughout the entire orphanage. Jude hoped that the whole thing hadn’t really taken so long, but when the alarm rang the second time she knew it was too late. The two teens unfortunately knew as well. While to most the alarm acted as the dinner bell, for the volunteers it meant it was time for them to go home. That included Jude.

“No. I thought we had more time.” Jude felt stressed trying to think of any way around this rule.

“Can’t you just go get the stuff then come back sayin’ you forgot somethin’?" Lex suggested.

Jude simply shook her head. “If I leave now, there’s no way they will let me back in. They almost didn’t when I went out to my car to grab that backpack.”

It was clear that they did have many options, but Luz knew she had to think of a new plan, or else Jude would go and do something drastic despite promising not to. She just needed somewhere nearby where she could get a few things so that she didn’t die from being on her own for a while.

 _‘Maybe I can go to that Bel-mart after I escape. Wait, I don’t have any money and I can’t ask any more of Jude after all she has already done for me.’_ Luz scrunched her eyes in thought. _‘Think Luz, think. There has to be something that has every- oh.’_

“Don’t worry Jude, I’ve got all that covered.” Luz couldn’t help but have a victorious grin on her face for thinking of a solution. Then again, she had the fact that some people didn’t know how to have a truly private conversation to thank for this success.

“Not that I don’t believe you Stars, but how in fifty frames per second do you ‘have it covered’?”

“Let’s just say I’ll be taking my cut later tonight.” It was only fair seeing as those two were the only reason Luz had stopped in the hall and got stomped on.

“Hold up a minute! Are you saying you did a heist!?” Jude was taken aback since such a thing didn’t seem like it was up Luz’s alley, but then she thought about it a bit more. “And you did it without me?!?!” She feigned hurt with that statement.

“Oh hush, it’s not like I choose to or anything.” Luz rolled her eyes at the supposedly older women’s antics.

“Boy do I wish I hung out with y'all before now. You’re both really are somethin’ ya know.” Lex smirked as she watched their interaction.

Luz and Jude looked towards each other for a moment, all the time they had spent together seeming to flash before their eyes. They were something alright, it was just a shame it wouldn’t be a mother and adoptive daughter. 

“Yeah, we sure are.” Jude was the one to look away in an attempt to keep Luz from seeing her break down “But I guess this is where we part ways for a while. Just remember if there is anything you need from me, I will always there to help you out. You hear me Stars.”

“Same here Scruff, I’ve got your back.”

Luz could feel her heart clench, as she still didn’t want to leave, but knew it was for her own wellbeing. To show herself that she couldn’t stay there anymore, Luz did something she knew would pretty stupid if the situation were different.

“Thanks, both of you. There is only one thing that I need at the moment. Can one of you go up to my bunk and reach into the vent above it?”

Both eyed the bunk and the vent above before Lex shrugged and began to climb up. None of the top bunk had ladders or stairs up to them, so she had to use some upper body strength to pull herself up. It was rather easy for Lex to get up, but she was startled when its posts made a loud creaking noise.

“How the hell do you sleep on this death trap?” Lex muttered aloud as she moved closer towards the vent. 

“I don’t know, how do you sleep underneath that death trap?”

“Haha… very funny. Do I need ta remove the grate to get in?”

“Just give it a good tug.”

Lex did as such and watched as it detached with ease. Placing the grate down, she stuck her arm in the opening just hoping she wouldn’t touch some part of a dead body or anything like that. She knows how far fetched that sounds, but with this place’s track record, she couldn’t completely write it off. 

Though all she felt at first was a whole bunch of dust. Reaching in further, Lex’s fingers graced something rectangular and something wiry. Getting a good grip on the objects, Lex pulled them and her arm out from the vent, now able to see what they were. In her hand was a small cell phone with a single big crack down the screen, but otherwise was in fairly good condition and a cell phone charger that looked like it was chewed by rats. Then again, those things weren’t exactly built to last so as far as Lex knew, the cord could have just looked like that because it was stepped on a couple of times. 

Lex carefully clambered back down and held the items out to Luz. “This what you needed?”

Luz started at the objects, more specifically the phone, but shook herself from her daze.” Yeah, do mind putting it in the bag.”

Lex nodded and she carefully placed the phone and charger in an unused pocket all in Luz’s line of sight. Jude still had her sights on the vent that had acted as Luz’s hiding spot.

“That’s pretty clever Stars. You wouldn’t happen to know of any vents that could fit something a little bit bigger, do ya?.”

She didn’t as she never got the chance to check for anymore, however even if she did, Luz wasn’t sure she would tell Jude after seeing the chaotic smile on her face that replaced the sadness it previously held. She had an idea and that was rarely a good thing.

“Should I be worried or…”

“Now, don't you worry about what I got planned. Just stay safe. Please.” Jude bent down and gently hugged Luz. It was a little awkward since Luz couldn’t really hug her back or even face her properly, but it felt right somehow. After a minute Jude pulled back then ruffled Luz’s hair which earned her a playful groan.

“Maybe you can find a comb in your cut. Then I won’t feel the need to mess with it.”

“We both know a comb wouldn’t stop you.” 

“Ha yeah, you’re right. But it seems like a stuck up headmaster can.” Jude walked to the door, knowing if she stayed any longer, said stuck up will start to search for her. “At least for now anyway.”

That grin, Luz would miss that grin most of all. But at the same time, it told her it wouldn’t be long before she saw it again. 

“Take care, Luz. I wish things didn’t end up like this but I know you’ll come out of it all better than before.” Jude walked through the passage with the peace signs thrown in the air as the door closed behind her. 

_‘She always did try to do that cool guy walk away. Funny how the only time it works is the last time I’ll see her for who knows how long.”_

The door promptly opened once more and Jude’s head popped inside the room.

“By the way, I left you something special. Hope you enjoy it!” She then popped back out and closed the door.

“What an idiot.” Luz sighed exasperated but was betrayed by the smile that crept on her face.

Lex just laughed until her sides hurt and Luz joined in though to a less extent since her side already hurt. It took about a minute for them to calm down and catch their breath.

“Whew. I-i should get goin’ ta dinner else I’ll be lyin’ in bed feelin’ hollow. Do you want me ta grab ya somethin’?”

“No, it’s fine. All I want to do right now is get some sleep. Though do you mind putting the bag in my cabinet?”

“No problem.” Lex did just that and Luz still couldn’t believe how much she was trusting a person she had barely talked to even with being in such proximity for six years. Perhaps pain caused the brain to be more trusting. Or she just didn’t care anymore since she would be out of Peter Point before the sun reached the horizon.

“Thanks Lex, I kind of wish we took the chance to get to know each other better.” Luz could feel her eyelids getting heavier and hear her speech slurring a bit.

“I wish we could’ve too, but I’ll keep an eye out for ya. It would be better for us anyway ta interact on the outside.” Much like Jude, Lex made her way towards the door with a swagger in her step. “Just make sure ta keep an eye out for me too.” 

And just like that, she was gone. The only sign of her departure was the flip of the light switch and the click of the closing door. Luz was alone, but at the same time, she wasn’t. However, she wasn’t in the mood to think of spiritual meanings. She was tired and for once she got her wish for a restful, dreamless slumber. She was going to need it.

The worst thing about not having a window nearby was not knowing what the time of day was. So Luz just had to trust her internal clock was right when it woke her body and mind from a peaceful slumber. She would be jolted awake around this time any other night from a not so nice sleep, so it was safe to assume that it was very finely tuned. 

After letting her eyes adjust, Luz looked around to see if her other roommates were in bed and sound asleep and noticed she was still in Lex’s bunk. She wondered if they questioned this whenever they had arrived, but remembered she had more important things to think about. They were all asleep and won’t be a problem for her to deal with. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed herself up and had to hold back the groan that threatened to escape from her mouth. Her entire body felt sore and stiff, and it was clear that the ibuprofen had worn off. Trudging past the pain, Luz managed to sit herself up and place her feet on the floor, careful not to step on Spare Mattress. She sat there for a minute as she prepared herself for what she had to do next.

Using the nearest bedpost, Luz pulled herself to her feet and immediately felt her body gravitating towards the ground. She silently strained her arms to keep herself from dropping like a sack of potatoes and forced her leg to stay underneath her. With sheer will, Luz managed to stand without the bedpost’s assistance and take her first step in the direction of her cabinet.

Tiptoeing over, she opened the small storage and took out the backpack as quietly as she could, stuffing the few things and clothes she had into it. As she made her way back towards the door, Luz stopped in front of the bunk she was just in and thought if it would be a good idea to take the blanket with her. It wouldn't keep her all that warm, but it would be better than just having her hoodie so she gathered it up and snuck the rest of the way to the door. Like any other night, she listened out for any guards and opened it just enough to fit herself through once she confirmed none were around. However, she stopped for a moment to just take in the room one more time as she would never see it again and didn’t know if she took comfort in that fact. Eventually, she stepped into the hall completely and slowly closed the door. She didn’t have time to think about what had never been good for her.

Following her usual pattern, Luz made it to the staircase with no problems and got down them without making a sound. She was so caught up with how smoothly things were going that she almost left the stairwell without checking her surroundings first and almost walked right into the view of a wandering guard. She was lucky she noticed the light of his flashlight shining from around a corner before he had turned it. 

Luz pressed herself as much to the wall as she could with Jude’s bag still on her back, holding her breath while listening to the footprints that became closer by the second. She prayed to whatever was up above that they would take pity on her just this once and keep her from being found out.

The guard continued walking towards the stairwell, swinging his light to and fro so that every inch of the hall was illuminated. He came closer and closer to where Luz hid. All she could think about was how she wasted her one chance and should have known that the universe would never give her a break.

He was just at the edge of the wall, ready to turn into the stairwell and

“Yo Hank, I saw Charlie about to help herself to that chocolate of yours.” A man, likely another guard semi-yelled across the hall to the guard just inches away from finding Luz.

The guard, Hank, immediately turned around and jogged towards where the other guard was. “What! I told you guys those were from my mom. She better not have taken a bite or so help me.”

Both guards went off to the security office to deal with Charlie the chocolate thief and once Luz was sure they were gone, she left out the biggest sigh of relief. Maybe the universe didn’t always have it all for her.

_‘Yeah, probably shouldn’t get used to it, but thanks for your help this time. And thank you Charlie’_

Stepping on the first floor, Luz took a right and made sure to be much more observant as she went. She continued past a couple of doors on both sides of the hall until she came across a door on the left that was out of place compared to the others. It had various scratch marks and dents from years of kids trying to break into the vault. But none, however, got through, at least not until now. Hopefully.

Walking up to the door, she gently tugged the handle and miraculously those two had pulled it off and the door smoothly opened. Luz rushed into the vault, closed the door behind her, and flipped on the lights. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The vault, the room that so many sought to gain access to was...not that impressive. It was just a small room with piles of stuff on the floor and a few foldable tables. The piles were at least separate and organized into categories, so there was that. But man would the other kids be disappointed with the whole thing.

The closest pile to Luz was of clothes so she felt that was a good place to start. Digging through it she didn’t find much, just a few plain tee shirts and shorts of different colors, two pairs of jean pants that would fit her good enough, a couple of pairs of socks, a bold purple short sleeve hoodie, and-

“Boxer briefs? Really?”

Then again she did more underwear, and the bag they all came in wasn’t opened. So she just told herself she had to take what she could get and place them in her own pile, moving on to where the toiletries were stacked. She took an extra toothbrush and tube of toothpaste, along with two bars of soap and a bottle of shampoo. And a comb.

Placing those in her pile she looked around the vault to see if there was anything else she needed. Her eyes landed on a pile made up of books, more specifically a book with a witch dressed in white and purple robes and a hat on its cover. It was a book that she never thought she would see again, let alone in a place like Peter Point. Luz moved closer to see if it was the book she thought it was then picked it up to test if it was really there. It was a pristine copy of The Good Witch Azura book five. Now Luz had to figure out if she should take it or not.

To most it would be a no brainer, the book series was something she held near and dear to her heart and loved everything about it, so of course, she should take it. But to Luz….well she just didn’t think it would be right even though a very small part of her was telling her to just take the book with her. 

Placing the book back down, she worked to pack all the supplies she gathered into the bag in the most space-saving and organized way. Only now did she notice there was something other than the medical supplies in the backpack. Luz reached inside and pulled out a brand new sketchbook along with a small pencil box filled with various pencils and a full array of colored pencils. On the cover of the sketchbook, there was a post-it note that said in Jude’s messy handwriting ‘This should be good enough for your first paycheck, don’t you think Stars?’. The smirk on Luz’s face grew each time she read the note and it stayed there even after she put the sketchbook back and began to fold the clothes she found.

When those were folded and put in the bag, she took that time to take another pill then got to work putting the toiletries away. Everything now tucked away, Luz began to take her leave but as she got up from the ground her mind went back to the book. It was just sitting there, tempting her with its amazingly good condition and it being the last book of the series. So much so that she didn’t notice that she had made her way back to the book pile until she saw that the book was suddenly in her hands. As she contemplated once more whether she should take it, Luz absentmindedly placed her arm on the table to help take some of the weight of the backpack off her legs. Just a shame that the foldable table didn’t hold well under the weight of something that wasn’t a couple of books. One of its legs folded in causing the whole table to fall to the ground with a deafening crash.

_‘Oh shit.’_

Without thinking, Luz stuffed the book into her bag and bolted out of the door, not bothering to turn the lights off. Not that she would have had the time as the minute she got out into the hall, the two guards from before were coming from the left of her, running to see what made that noise. It didn’t take them long to see Luz standing there like a deer in the headlights.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!” Hank yelled out as he and the other guard got closer.

That got Luz’s brain and feet in gear and she booked it the other way, hoping she could still make it to the lobby. She looked back to see if they were gaining on her, though was surprised to see that they were trailing behind. Interesting how two grown men couldn’t catch up to an injured sixteen-year girl. Though facing forward it became clear that they were just meant to lead her into a trap. A woman jumped from around a corner of the adjacent hall that led to the lobby and stood right in Luz’s path, ready to scoop her up and hold her in place. In the light of the other guards’ flashlights, Luz could see the woman's name tag that read Charlie.

_‘Dang it Charlie.’_

This was it, wasn’t it? She had nowhere to turn, no place to hide. She couldn’t stop or else she would get caught, but she couldn’t keep running either. Luz felt so hopeless, her one chance at freedom was blown, and everyone’s effort to help her were wasted because of a book. She should just stop running and hope that Hal wouldn’t yell at her too much. 

And yet her legs didn’t stop. 

Luz wouldn’t let herself give up. Her hopelessness was suddenly replaced with something else, something that she had never felt before but let take over.

A few feet from Charlie she swiftly took the bag off her back and threw it over the guard’s head. While she ducked to avoid the projectile, Luz used the distraction to drop to the floor and slide between Charlie’s legs. She popped back up on the other side, caught the bag, and continued running all in one clean motion. All three guards looked gobsmacked and the show of skill but no one was as surprised as Luz. Though none of them could think about what just happened for too long since the chase was still on. The strange feeling disappeared from Luz and let way for pure adrenaline driving each step she took. 

Since Luz couldn’t double back she ran until she came across the cafeteria and pushed past its doors. There weren’t too many places for her to hide since all of the tables were folding and pushed to one side, and there was no way to get into the kitchen from there. With the lack of other options, she turned to the door that led out to the backfield. She was just ducking under the yellow caution tape strewn across its frame when she heard the cafeteria doors open and the guards yelling for her to stop. 

The cold night air hit Luz like a freight train but she didn’t let it slow her down as she would need all the time she could get. She headed to the part of the fence closest to the forest planning to get over it then losing the guards in the trees if they were still on her tail. This was where her climbing expertise helped since there weren’t too many footholds or places to grab other than the bars themself. Luz had managed to get about halfway up the fence when the guards had caught up to her.

“Listen kid, there’s no way you're getting over this thing so just come back down and we won’t have to be rough with you,” Charlie yelled up to Luz, but she paid the words no mind.

Seeing that she was not going to take the easy way, Charlie signaled for Hank to climb up and grab her. Luz felt the vibrations of him climbing up after her and picked up her pace. She knew he would use his height to his advantage, so she had to get off the fence as soon as possible to keep out of his grasp. 

She made it to the top when she felt him grabbing at her shoes. It startled her so much that she lost her footing and toppled over to the other side, feeling the fence scrap along her lower right leg. Luz landed hard on her left arm and the wind was knocked out of her for the second time in the past two days. She didn’t get the chance to catch her breath, Hank was carefully heaving himself over the top at that moment and the other guards weren’t too far behind.

Using the adrenaline course through her veins, Luz pushed herself off the ground and ran into the forest. Only the light reflected off the moon kept her from crashing into the trees, though her unsteady legs didn’t make it any easier. Then again, maybe the fact that she couldn’t run in a straight line helped make her harder to track. 

However, the guard didn’t sound like they were too far behind. Their lights seemed to come from all around Luz and she feared they would catch her at any minute. Her best chance was to find somewhere to hide and hope they would give up on finding her, though the only things around her were trees and a few fallen logs.

Luz was debating in her mind if she had the time to climb one of the trees and hide in its leaves when she stopped as she came across a clearing with an old house in the middle of it. The house was made of wood and was worn down in every way. The porch and railing were falling apart, the roof looked to have caved in, and the windows were smashed. The place had every element of a classic haunted house or place for human sacrifices. So of course it was perfect for Luz to hide in. She certainly didn’t have any better ideas.

An eminence pain radiates from her right leg and she could feel a thick fluid dripping down, but she refused to look as she had been at a standstill for too long. Like everything else, she pushed past the pain feeling as though she was now in the last stretch. Still, it was all taking quite the toll on her. Hobbling as quick as she could to the house, she made it up the stairs without falling through the rotting wood. Luz pulled the door open and practically threw herself into the house. 

But rather than being met with a dusty interior with old white sheets covering whatever was still inside, she was blinded with white light. It was all just too much for her body to handle. It shut down before Luz could even know what was happening.

The light was replaced with pure black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now time for the real pai- I mean adventure to begin. I'm kidding, next chapter will actually be pretty chill compared to the previous ones. I just have to write it and not take nearly two months to post it.
> 
> Chapter title from 'Paradise' by Coldplay. I wonder if the pattern is clear?
> 
> Anyway hope you all stick around for the next chapter that will be up sometime soon since I apparently lost the ability to track passages of time. Merry Christmas to all.


	6. As the Pieces Fall Into Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our young protagonist ends up in a rather frightful place. But I mean it's better than Peter Point, so...  
> Though it may not be that great for Amity. Or at least her parents aren't.
> 
> TW// Blood and Bruises  
> TW// Nightmares  
> TW// Emotional Abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that, I'm still alive and so is this story. Though I understand if some of you were starting to think otherwise. The reason that it took so long was cause I was stuck on how I wanted this chapter to flow. See without trying to reveal too much, this chapter is a big part of what is to come later on down the line and we've already discussed how much of a perfectionist I am when it comes to my writing. But as you can see I got past that and it's now here for your viewing pleasure. So enjoy.

Her steps slowed as she had finally made it to her destination. The sun rested on the horizon, its early light just illuminating the cliff’s edge from which the entirety of the town could be seen. Despite the dangers this world contained, it had its share of hidden gems if you looked hard enough and this gem was shining pretty bright.

However, she wasn’t there for sightseeing. Eda sighed as she turned, readying herself for what she had walked up there to do. She knew of the consequences but it had to be done, she simply couldn’t do much else this time around. This was the only solution.

She reached up and pulled the key that was looped on a string from under her shirt, turning it in her hand before slipping the string from around her neck. Holding the key out in front of her, Eda pressed the eye and called forth a briefcase with a similar design to the key. The case floated a few feet ahead of her for a second before folding down, shifting into a dark wooden door with a golden glow surrounding it and the yellow eye showing predominantly at the top of it. 

_‘It’s for the best.’_ She thinks to herself as took one more look at the thing she swore she would always protect. In a way, she was keeping her promise. Though who she was keeping that promise for…

Eda quickly shook the thought from her head. She knew why she was doing this and she wasn’t going to waste any more time.

“King gets so annoying when I’m not there to make breakfast.”

She allows a small chuckle to escape as she raises her arm and points a finger towards the door. Eda began the familiar motion of drawing a circle in the air and watched the bright reddish-orange strand of magic trail behind it. While it wasn’t her usual style to take things slow, she was willing to do so now to make sure no pieces are left behind.

Though just as she was about to finish the spell, the door suddenly swung open and blinded the witch with its blazing white light. She was focused on clearing her vision when the door folded back in on itself that she almost didn’t hear the thunk of something falling to the ground.

“Damn sensitive eyes.” She scoffed as she rubbed the remaining stars from her eyes. When her vision was clear enough she turned back to where the door once was expecting to see one of the humans’ oddly small eggs or a human shoe.

What? It’s happened before.

Though what she wasn’t expecting was a kid, let alone a kid who looked like they had gotten chewed up and spit out by a slither beast then trampled by it. Heck, even on one of her worst days, Eda would only slump back into her home with a fraction of the injuries this kid seemed to have sustained. The wraps on their left arm had loosened revealing splotches of dark purple, but they seemed insignificant compared to their leg that was gushing what Eda presumed was blood.

Dropping to her knees beside the kid, Eda carefully shook them to see if they were still alive. After confirming that they were just unconscious, she now had to decide on what to do with them. See, Eda was a lot of things, a powerful witch, a stone-cold fox, a bad bitch cause you can’t kill her, but she was most definitely not the type of person to leave an injured human child to the whims of a place like the Boiling Isles. And Titan forbid that she brought the kid back to their realm because the state they were in was evidence enough that that wasn’t a good idea. So that left one other option.

Bringing her focus back on the key in her hand, Eda used it to cast the case away then swiftly placed the key back around her neck and out of sight. She would just have to put it off for now.

She slid the backpack off her new guest and transferred it to her own back. Eda sized up the wounded portal hopper before carefully scooping them up. To her surprise, the kid was reasonably light and not as heavy as an unconscious body usually is. Or so she heard… 

The point was that they wouldn’t slow Eda down and risk the chance of someone her carrying a knocked-out human child since talk traveled fast around here. Then again, who else could possibly be up at this time.

As the sunlight peered itself into her room through her window, Amity felt it best to end the farce that was her pretending to get a decent amount of sleep. She wasn’t sure why it took her this to give up on it, but she definitely knew why sleep hadn’t come easy to her last night.

The short version, her parents.

The long version, they had called Amity and her siblings to a family dinner last night which was far and few between, and she was very thankful for that fact. Family dinner brought her nothing but a bad taste in her mouth from how she forced herself to act in front of her mother and father. Not to mention the stress the strained conversations gave her.

Throughout the night, it was all talk about her parents’ work and how they were thinking of having an additional room added to the manor. The few times the conversation was directed towards the Blight children, it was followed by either a look of content or a backhanded comment that wasn’t all that veiled. Not once were the siblings allowed to talk freely, let alone to try and defend themselves against their parents’ cutting words. They just had to suck it up and focus on finishing the food on their plates while giving proper responses such as ‘It will not happen again Mother.’ or ‘Very well Father.’.

The whole event is very taxing on the siblings, to the point that even Amity’s older brother and sister, Edric and Emeira, didn’t have the strength to pull their usual shenanigans during it. As sad as it was, she wouldn’t disagree if an outsider had wandered into the dining hall and commented on how the twins looked almost dead inside. Though for Amity, the dinners affected her the most when they were finally done and over with. 

Like with many things in her life, she got tied up on the things said by her parents and was left tossing and turning in bed. She was simply unable to shake the voice telling her what they said was true or how she was just wasting their time. Most of the time, she was able to quiet it by reassuring herself that that is not the case and that her parents’ opinions of her don’t matter, but last night she found it harder to believe that. It was likely because of what her mother said to her right before dinner was over.

_"Amity dear, I’ve noticed that you have been slacking on your training." Her voice was cold but feinted concern, as it always was._

_"I apologize Mother. I was just very focused on my school work." Amity hoped the excuse would satisfy her mother and get her to drop the topic._

_"Yes, that may be the case but your training is just as important. How are you to be a proper Blight if you do not have the prowess to force others to see you as such?"_

Amity knew what her mother was really saying because even from across the table she could decipher the look of her calculating eyes.

**  
_How could Amity be called her daughter if she continued to be so weak?_  
**

She knew she wasn’t weak, in a magic sense anyway. Her magic could even give her teachers a run for their snails. But in general-

The young Blight shook her head, forcing the oncoming thoughts away. For now at least. _‘No, I won’t let her keep me down. Not this time.’_

She lifted her comforter and suppressed the small shiver bought on from the loss of heat. Planting her feet on the carpeted floor below, she stood up and made her way to her desk. She didn’t want anyone else to know she was awake, especially her parents, so she thought it best to hold off on her morning bathroom routine. It wasn’t likely that anyone would have heard her, but she didn’t want to risk it. Amity was trying her hardest to avoid her parents until their departure.

Her parents’ announcement that they were going on a business trip for the next few days was probably the only good thing that came out of the dinner. Scratch that, it definitely was the only good thing. Their business trips were the only times when the siblings felt truly free to be themselves in their own home. So Amity wasn’t the only one feeling antsy waiting for their mother and father to finally leave, she was just the only one who showed it.

Spinning her finger to form a small spell circle, she magicked the bottom drawer open and grabbed the hard covered book that resided inside. It wasn’t often that she kept something so personal in the manor, much preferred to leave things like this in her secret room at the library where it was least likely to fall in the hands of her pesky siblings. Or her parents. But this book was something she liked to keep close whenever possible. She even took it to school at times.

Amity opened the book and let her eyes scan the first page. It was covered in light, erasable pencil lines that formed sketches of various views of a stand in the market. The next page was similar to the first but the sketches were of the park. Nearly every page of the book was like this, focusing on a different building or structure every page or two. She couldn’t help but smile at her previous works. Something about drawing buildings and sometimes their interiors just made sense to her. Buildings were consistent, sturdy. Unless they were meant to, buildings didn’t change. And everything about them made Amity want to immortalize the structures in her art. 

Of course not with just these small sketches. She just found it easy to basically carry the buildings around with her so when she did work on the real piece, she could do so in the comfort of her secret room and have accurate references. And boy were they accurate.

She had concept sketches of about half of the buildings on the Boiling Isles and about a quarter of those were made into complete artworks. It was a slow process and if others knew of her project, they would say it was pointless since she could just use magic. But the young witch did this because it tested her skills and she enjoyed the entire experience. To the point that her goal was to draw every building on the Boiling Isles then afterward work on drawing a few of her designs and imagination.

Amity’s thoughts on her personal project brought to mind a house that she had wanted to sketch for some time now due to its odd shape and its even odder inhabitant but hadn’t gotten around to doing so. Perhaps when her parents took their leave she could take that closer look.

 _‘But not today.’_ She quickly thought as she closed the sketchbook and put it back in its drawer, in turn taking out another book. Though this one was for reading rather than drawing in.

She knew she couldn’t get into the proper mindset to sketch when she was tired, and she wasn’t going to get any sleep until she felt relaxed.

Until her parents were gone.

**It was strange to look around. Like standing in a dark room while wearing glasses made of fog. To Luz, it was as if she could kind of see something but not really anything at all. In layman’s terms, the surrounding area was weird. And hot. She wasn’t sure what was going on until-**

_  
**‘So once again you choose to interfere with my plans. You truly are a pain to those around you.’ The voice stated, it sounded like it came from directly behind Luz.**  
_

**She spun around in shock, fearful of being face to face with the monster but she was only met with the foggy vision and the soft sound of like when glass cracks.**

_  
**‘What are you to do now with me in the picture, you must be wondering. A good question to ask indeed.’**  
_

**Luz turned around again only to be met with the same result, only this time the crack was louder. She was able to pinpoint the sounds below her. Looking down she was surprised to see her reflection in the opaque ‘floor’. Though something about wasn’t quite right, she didn’t have time to figure out why. Along with where her feet were placed were two cracks.**

**And they were getting bigger.**

**She bolted, despite knowing she had nowhere to run to or that running, in general, would no doubt do anything in terms of helping. And yet she ran regardless, picking up her speed when she could hear the cracking chase her down. Luz dared to look back, and when she saw the cracks right on her heel she knew there was no hope.**

_  
**‘Fret not little pest, I have become more flexible and found a way to work around your intrusion.’**  
_

**Luz could tell she was going to fall when her left foot suddenly didn’t have a surface under it, then her right foot lost its traction and allowed her to slip and fall back into the chasm that had opened.**

_  
**‘In fact, I believe you could be a rather good piece for me to play. So do try to be useful for once in your life.’**  
_

**She could feel herself falling faster, and the innate sense of hitting the bottom only grew. But so did the feeling that there was no bottom, no end. Was she trapped to fall forever? Or would she reach the ground when she least expected it and it really would be over for her? Did she want it to be over?**

**As these questions rushed by in her head, she was suddenly blinded by a flash of white light. Clearing her vision, Luz obviously noticed that her surroundings were now illuminated, however, she was more focused on the now visible ground that she was going towards at max velocity.**

**Her breathing quickened.**

**Her pupils dilated.**

**Luz didn’t want this to be the end.**

**She was going to make sure this wasn’t her end.**

“Ahhhhhh..owwwww!” Luz screamed first in fearful determination, then in pain when the fact she had rapidly moved her battered body by sitting up was registered in her mind.

“What’s with all the yelling?! You trying to make the whole house go deaf?” A door swung open revealing a pale older woman with bushy gray hair and a red dress hair with her fingers in her ears.

And not connected to her hands.

Back to screaming in fear.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” Luz tried to back away from the woman but was once again writhed from the pain shooting up from her right leg. This time she fought to keep her cry to herself.

Seeing that the kid had quieted down, kind of, Eda removed her fingers and attached them back to her hands like it was nothing. Afterward, closed the door behind her and slowly sat down while she kept direct eye contact with Luz.

“Alright, I’m not sure I’m remembering this right but...uhh..you should try to get your breathing under control and not move around anymore. I can only do so much for your leg so I don’t need you making it any worse.” It was clear to Luz that the older woman was uncomfortable with whatever this situation was, but had the experience of dealing with this sort of thing. That, and the sight of her injured leg wrapped up with bandages of a light tone, was the only reason she decided to follow the woman’s instructions. For now at least.

Taking a few deep breaths, she felt her fear lessen but didn’t completely dissipate. There was still a stranger who could remove body parts sitting in front of her after all. Now that her mind wasn’t clouded with fear, Luz was able to gather herself and the many questions she had.

“Who are you?” Her voice cracked a little as she asked. It was a simple question, but it seemed like a good place to start.

“Well, to most I’m Eda the Owl Lady and the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, but to you, I’m Eda, the witch who saved your ass. You’re welcome.” Eda’s cheat puffed up proudly as she said this, expecting the kid to be impressed.

“The Boiling Isles. Is that where I am?”

Eda looked as though she was just punched in the gut. _‘How can this kid just brush off most of everything I just said.’_

“Yes, but didn’t you hear anything else I said. Like the whole saving your life part.”

“But why?”

“Why?” 

“Why bother helping me?” Luz’s eyes had become dull but Eda hadn’t noticed this because she was reeling from her words.

Not ‘why did you help me’ like most in this situation would ask, but ‘why bother helping me’. _‘Dear titan who hurt this kid.’_

She tried not to let her slight pity and discomfort show as she answered the depressing question.

“This place isn’t all that kind to those who are unable to defend themselves, and you clearly can’t defend yourself in the state you're in so it only made sense to bring you here. Besides, you kind of got here through my portal and I couldn’t just toss you back without it nagging me later.”

Luz’s eyes brighten somewhat as the older woma- Eda’s words sunk in. The witch actually cared about her despite trying to seem like she was indifferent. It was jarring to the human, to say the least, but also made her feel as though she has been given a blessing in disguise. This just might be the answer to the question of where she was going to stay. But she wasn’t going to get her hopes up as doing so never ended well.

“So how long will you let me stay here?” 

“I suppose until you can move about on your own and feel ready to go back to your world. Though if you do decide to stick around, you’re gonna have to work for me. Can’t have any more freeloaders around here.” Eda replied with a small smirk on her face. She knew it wasn’t likely that the kid would want to stay in a place like the Boiling Isles but she couldn’t help thinking about how having an assistant would mean less work for her.

“Course you don’t have to decide now, just rest and don't make your injuries any worse.” Eda proceeded to get up as she sure the kid needed some time to herself. “I’ll try to make sure others don’t come in here but I can’t make any promises.” 

Luz watched as Eda twirled her finger and made the open once more. It only hit her as she was walking through the threshold that she hadn’t asked a question of her own.

“What’s your name kid?”

“It’s Luz.” She said simply.  
“Well Luz, welcome to the Owl House.”

Another twirl of her finger and the door quickly shut, leaving Luz alone in the room and still staring at where Eda had once stood.

“So I was right, magic does exist.” 

Almost anyone else would have said this with pure excitement and childlike wonder, but Luz’s voice lacked any emotion.

The revelation of magic being real just made her feel hollow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took some time to write, my computer kept restarting on me which makes me glad I write these chapter in a google doc then transfer them here. By the way, I'm trying to work on how I'm going to format flashbacks and previously had conventions so I would like to know if how I had the conversation with Amity and Odalia was good or if I should change it.
> 
> Also on my Tumbler, I'm talking about my homicide detective au that stars the Betas so feel free to check it out.  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/orangejuicetoast42
> 
> Title is taken from the song 'In the Dark of the Night' from the movie Anastasia.
> 
> Next chapter the two sad children finally met, but for now happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
